Let the Games Begin!

Hey Macker Fans,

The 3-on-3 games just began and the tournament is underway!!! All of the teams are pumped up and ready to start playing! We would like to give a big thanks to the following sponsors because without them the tournament would have not been possible!

Eastbay, Wilson, National Air Guard, WoW Mount Pleasant, O-Ink, Farmers Insurance-Ken Kreiner, CM-Life, Buffalo Wild Wings, P.K. Herbs Compassion Club, Shaheen GM Buick, Gold Creations, Progressive Manufacturing, Isabella Community Credit Union, Auto-Lab, Fremont Insurance Co., Baymont Inn and Suites.

Do not forget about our special musical guest artist Kevin Garret who will be performing at noon during the lunch break! We also are in the works of putting together a live call on 91.5.

We’ll be keeping you up all day Macker fans so keep checking up on social networking sites:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002217486892&ref=ts 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/GusMackerCMU

Let the games begin Macker Fans!!

The Countdown Begins!

Hey Macker Fans!

Well, tomorrow is the big day!  Right now we are currently running around Finch Fieldhouse trying to set everything up for two fantastic days of 3-on-3 basketball.

During our set-up, we spoke to Mike, who is handling our sound system for the festival and he told us about Gus Macker tournaments of the past.

The final count of teams for this weekend is 118 and that is up from last year!  We are very excited to have so many teams competing and we are thrilled that more teams have signed up.  Mike told us that, years ago, when Macker was really popular in the 90′s, there would be strings of tournaments with no less than 2,000 teams!  That’s crazy!  We can’t imagine over 10,000 people crammed onto Franklin Street for the event.

“We had a lot of fun back then” Mike said to us as he showed us Macker Maps from the ’94 Ludington tournament and the ’95 Belding tournament.

We are so happy and so fortunate that Gus Macker is coming back to CMU this year and we cannot wait for this weekend.

We hope to see everyone there!  Opening ceremonies is at 8am and games start at 9am.

Macker On!

Confirmed Performer Kevin Garrett!

Hey Macker Fans,

Be on the lookout this upcoming week for a Skype feature blog with confirmed performer Kevin Garrett!

In the meantime, here are the links to check out his music online:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kevingarrettmusic

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kevinogarrett

Bandcamp: http://kevingarrettmusic.bandcamp.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kevingarrettmusic

Suzi Tengen: How to Treat your Volunteers

Hey Macker Fans,

Time is ticking and with only 16 days left we learned last week that it is time to start recruiting volunteers for the event. Guest speaker Suzi Tengen came in and talked to the class on how to treat your volunteers during the event. Mrs. Tengen provided the class with ten pointers on how to respect your volunteers.

1. Always provide the volunteers with food.
2. The volunteer should have background knowledge on the event they’re helping out at.
3. Pick volunteers wisely.
4. Be prepared for no shows.
5. Make them identifiable.
6. Make sure the volunteer has a kit with everything imaginable inside of it.
7. Always include them into the event and make sure they are well taken care of.
8. Make sure your volunteers are never bored.
9. A written thank you after the event is always a MUST.
10. Make sure you treat volunteers with respect because they are donating their own time.

After the presentation there was a question and answer session. During this session students asked a various amount of questions and a few are listed below:

Q: What do you do for a volunteer who is not happy?

A: Just try and satisfy them as quickly & the best way you can.

Q: For my internship this summer I am required to find volunteers for an event. How do I go about doing this?

A: I would recommend going to the CBV, Chamber of Commerce, High School or Church.

Q: How do you tell your volunteers to prepare for the weather?

A: Tell them it is Michigan and the weather is all over the map!

Well that about wraps it up for this week and just a reminder MAIL-IN DEADLINE is APRIL 15 and ONLINE DEADLINE is APRIL 18.

Macker On!!

Double Elimination Bracket

Hello Macker Fans,

We are less than a month away from the tournament and the teams as well as sponsorships are starting to come in! Due to an unexpected family emergency from our scheduled guest speaker Suzi Tengen, she was unable to make it to our class today. We are still excited for to come in next week and speak.

The whole Macker crew is getting super excited and with the teams starting to register we began to figure out how to bracket the tournament.

The Gus Macker tournament format is set-up in a double elimination bracket. All of the Gus Macker tournament brackets nationwide consist of double elimination. Though behind this double elimination strategy there is a formula that Macker fans may want to know. The formula consist of:

Number of teams, Times 2, Minus 1

(Teams*2-1)

Using the double elimination bracket method there are many advantages for the participants of the game. Advantages are:Each entrant is guaranteed two games

• An entrant who loses one game will not win the event
• Seeding is not critical
• Requires limited play area
• Better measure of ability than single elimination

Although just like many situations there are disadvantages to this method. Disadvantages consist of:

• Some play many games; others play few
• Takes many rounds to complete
• Doesn’t maximize the use of multiple playing areas

This double elimination bracket may sound confusing but it is the best way to keep the game running smoothly as well as accurately.

Well that about wrapped our time up for this week. With only 25 days left we have a lot of business to get down to as well recruiting more participants.

Until next week Macker on!

Let’s Get Crackin’!

Hello everyone!

We hope you had a great week and are ready for the weekend! Today in class we took a dive deeper into the planning of the 2011 Gus Macker tournament. With only 36 days to go we had a lot of planning to get started.

Today the class was split into two groups. Lori has taken over the special events, sponsor relations, facilities and PA committees. T.O on the other hand, has taken over the rest of the committees which are the court captains, brackets /trophies, bloggers and Gussette editor.

In todays discussion the court captains were asked to go out and find themself a volunteer as well as a Gus buster. T.O explained what it takes to be a court captain and things they should look for when searching for a volunteer. The court captains also have the task of finding a Gus buster. The Gus buster is said to be an interesting dynamic because they run the court but don’t make calls (except for on the Jr. court).

We also discussed the dream court and what it is.

“The dream court is a huge deal for the 16 and under participants. The court it is like an NBA game, all of the participants get nicknames and announcers talk throughout the game. There is also an MVP and they get interviewed live postgame, said Gus Macker employee Meredith McIlhargey .”

When the class met back together at the end of the hour Lori’s committees shared their ideas of what they had in planning so far. For the opening ceremony the Macker national staff will be attending. In addition there is an exciting surprise opening which is a huge twist compared to what has been done in the past.

Finally, there will also be a new event added to the Gus Macker Tournament. During the lunch break Macker Idol will be taking place at Main Stage. Rising artist/singer Kevin Garrett will be singing some tunes and we are all excited to have him be part of the event. To listen to what he has in store check him out on I-Tunes!

Well that about wraps it up for this week. Next week in class we are very excited to have Suzi Tengen come in and talk to the class about a Memorial Classic she put on for 15 years.

Until then, Macker on everyone and spread the word because time is ticking!

And Away We Go!

Hey there everyone!

We hope you are having a SAFE and fantastic St. Paddy’s Day. We celebrated ours in Finch 101 with a visit from Scott McNeal and Marcelo D’Avila from the Gus Macker HQ. We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs with them, but the tournament is only 42 days away and it’s time to get cracking!

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Type “3 on 3 basketball tournament” into Google and the first hit is macker.com and registration for the Gus Macker tournament.  However, over it’s 35 years of existence, the Gus Macker tournament has essentially transformed into a festival that shuts down an entire town for a span of two days. Scott McNeal, founder of Gus Macker and a CMU graduate, began the tournament in his driveway as a way for him and his friends to compete and win money. With help from his mom and a few neighbors, the tournament became more and more serious and the stakes became higher and higher. What once started with 18 kids in a driveway has escalated into a national frenzy, with 44 tournaments in 2011, ranging in small cities from Roswell, New Mexico to Sioux City, Iowa and even Mount Pleasant, Michigan. For the second consecutive year, Scott has trusted the students of Central Michigan University to handle the planning and operations of the tournament. Thirty-eight students enlisted in RPL 400G and agreed to meet in Finch 101 from 5-7pm on Thursday nights for the opportunity to gain bona fide event planning experience.  Each student is assigned a different job. Next week we’ll have a more detailed description of each job.

Scott led the discussion explaining the history of the Gus Macker tournament and his personal reasons for continuing it. The idea of a Gus Macker tournament is a family-oriented event where ANYONE can come play 3 on 3 basketball with their friends.  Scott says the idea is “aw shucks, apple pie, American basketball in your driveway”.  This grassroots style of play meshes perfectly with the small towns the Gus Macker tournament targets.  Generally, Visitors Bureaus within a small town (10,000-50,000 population) hire Scott and his team to help their town plan a Gus Macker tournament.  He contracts with non-profits within the town and then they sell local sponsorships to help pay for the tournament. Scott likes to keep his event tilted more towards families and fun, and will not allow alcohol or tobacco companies sponsor the event to protect the integrity of the “apple pie” feel.

One of the goals set by Scott and Marcelo for the 38 students was the amount of college students playing. In 2010, only 32 teams were registered as college students.  Scott explained that “the desire is to engage college students” and we were challenged to double the amount of teams. With only 42 days until the tournament, we’re going to Facebook and Twitter and market all that we can to reach that goal!

Speaking of, have YOU registered for the 2011 tournament yet? It’s so easy! Just go to http://www.macker.com/tournaments/mtpleasantmi.html and click to register if you are a COLLEGE team or the GENERAL PUBLIC. Cost is $100 for college students and $128 for the general public. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the CMU Events Center.

Next week, we’ll meet some of the students putting on the Gus Macker tournament at CMU and divulge into more of the relationship Gus Macker has with CMU.

Until next time, Macker on!

 

UPDATE: Check out our first video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3v6Kivjhs0

First Blog Entry!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the Official 2011 Gus Macker CMU Blog!

Our goal here is to keep YOU, the avid Macker fan,  up-to-date as MUCH as possible on everything MACKER and CMU.

Right now we are working on our first video and should have that up soon. Until that is up, have you registered for the Gus Macker Tournament yet? It is April 29th and 30th right on the campus of CMU. It’s $128 per team, and $100 for a team of college students. Registering is SUPER easy on www.macker.com and select Mount Pleasant, MI.

 

Until then, Macker on!